


Preparation

by makomaragi



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Anime), Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Main Video Game Series), Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types, Pocket Monsters: Black & White | Pokemon Black and White Versions
Genre: Community: femmeslash, F/F, Family, Family Drama, Feels, Femslash, Femslash February, Femslash February 2016, LGBTQ Themes, Marriage, Marriage Proposal, One Shot, Relationship(s), Same-Sex Marriage
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-09
Updated: 2019-03-09
Packaged: 2019-11-14 06:54:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,777
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18047690
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/makomaragi/pseuds/makomaragi
Summary: Juniper deals with some things in preparation for her future with Fennel. (Originally written for Femslash February in 2014)





	Preparation

“I’m going to go out for a bit,” Juniper announced after she collected her things from the kitchen counter, passing through the living room where Fennel was seated on the couch in the dim light, doing…whatever it was Fennel did when she had the free time. At the moment it appeared to be indulging herself in some sort of brightly colored cartoon, surrounded by various packages of cookies spread out all over the couch and coffee table.

“Okay,” Fennel confirmed, not moving from the blanket cocoon she created for herself. At the turn of the door knob, however, she yelled,“Hey, can you get milk on your way home? I wanted to make pancakes tomorrow, and we’re almost out.”

“I’m, ah, going to do some field research I’ve been putting off. But if I don’t get too dirty and it’s not too late, sure.”

“Alright then, bye,” the scientist seemed to accept that answer, turning back to her television program and shoving another cookie in her mouth.

Lying to Fennel about where she was headed was not something she prided herself on, or even had a reason to often. But Fennel never questioned what ‘field research’ entailed, and Aurea guessed it was because the few times she did attempt to explain she had lost interest half way through. She didn’t want to risk Fennel inviting herself, either, as she was prone to do, and any other time, she wouldn’t have minded.

It was for the greater good, Aurea told herself, stepping on the commuter ferry bound for Castelia City.

An hour or so there and an hour or so back. Depending on how long the impending conversation was going to take, Fennel might even by sleeping by the time she got back. She had considered driving, only to give herself the time to think, but surely four to five hours of driving wasn’t all the thought she needed, and then the commute back just as long. No, she had been very sure of her thoughts leading up to her actions.

Aurea never cared much for the city, finding it annoying to navigate and even more annoying and tedious to travel to and through. No matter what time of day it was, the streets were always teaming with people, zigzagging her way through the crowd to the once familiar apartment Fennel and her sister formerly shared. Amanita had remained there, and apparently planned to stay there, long after Fennel had moved to Nuvema Town not all that long ago. They both still found reasons to make the relatively short journey to Castelia, Fennel for work related things, and lately the both of them to see Fennel’s parents, who had been visiting from the Kanto region. Amanita had been given some sort of award for her contributions to Unova’s science endevours, and her parents had made the flight over to attend the ceremony, but were staying for an extra few days to spend some time with them. Fennel had offered for them to stay at the house, but they found it more morally pleasing to stay with Amanita. The apartment was far less cramped with Fennel gone, and, they all supposed, there was much more to do in Castelia than there was Nuvema, anyway.

The professor had spent time with Fennel’s parents a few times now, though she wouldn’t say she knew them all that well. They had come to visit about half a year before, that being the first time she encountered them. Fennel’s father was some type of scientist at Silph Company, a large but not heavy set man, with dark brown eyes and hair that matched, appearing to share more traits with Amanita than Fennel. Under a different pretense, Aurea probably would have got along with him famously; as many of his favorite topics of conversation did include his own scientific research, even if it was much different than that or the professor’s or even Fennel’s. However, he had no qualms with expressing his discontent with how Fennel lived her life in Unova. Her mother, who looked nearly identical to Fennel herself, though with a much more manageable length of hair and perfect eye sight, had not said one way or the other if she had approved or disapproved of the 'situation’ as she referred to it, but was far more soft spoken on the matter, and far more approachable about it, foregoing her own thoughts she may have had and more often than not trying to gauge how Fennel herself felt about it.

Either way, facing them alone was walking straight in to the Pyroar’s den. And she may have well been the scrap of meat.

She hesitated before pressing the buzzer with shaking hands, with a second thought that, perhaps no one was home and she’d be making her journey back home, only providing her more time to ponder over what had been weighing on her mind so heavily since the conversation with her own father a few weeks ago.

Now that she thought about it, it was _his_  fault she was here, possibly embarrassing herself. Was this another of his schemes to reward himself with a silly story of her embarrassment later? Perhaps it was foolish of her to share her future plans with him to begin with. Contrary to popular belief, they had serious conversations at times, and that had been one of them.

Even so, it was too late now, as Amanita had answered, allowing her in to the building.

From the looks of it they had all just finished dinner, some plates still scattered around the living room, Amanita busy taking them in trips to the kitchen.

“Oh, I’m sorry, did I, erm, interrupt?” Aurea face faulted at the scene, feeling guilty she paid the unexpected visit to begin with, nor getting them off to a very good start.

“Nah, we were done eating,” Amanita threw another pile of dishes in to the sink, running water over them and taking her place back on the couch next to her parents, looking just as confused as the two of them.

“Fennel isn’t with you?” their mother piqued, raising an eyebrow.

Aurea made a similar facial expression at the mention of the other woman, forgetting entirely that it probably went assumed that she would more than likely be with her. “She’s at home.”It was true, she was at home. Probably still in her clutter of blankets, watching children’s cartoons. But that wasn’t what she had come here to tell them about. “Though, um…I do need to speak with you…about Fennel.”

Her mother raised a hand to her face in concern, “Oh, goodness, is she alright?”

“She’s perfectly fine,” the professor offered, quickly realizing from their expressions that it didn’t explain much. “She was watching cartoon Ponytas when I left.” Nor was that any more relieving. And still, not at all what she wanted to discuss.

“Then what?” her father interrupted in his confusion any train of thought she had been working towards. None of them seemed angry, or even annoyed with her visit, only befuddled why she had come unaccompanied by the person that gave her any ties to them at all.

Aurea’s hands were still shaking violently, now more than ever, realizing it may have been because she had been standing at the center of attention since she arrived. She took a seat on the arm chair across from the couch, now considering that was probably where Amanita had been placed before her intrusion, though, realizing that she was one of the three with eyes dead set on her. “I, um…I….” It wasn’t like her to fumble over her words as she was, shaking her head in a weak attempt to collect her internal ramblings and get it over with, getting out with it before she lost confidence and had to repeat finding it all over again. “I want to ask Fennel to marry me. My father suggested that I speak to you about it, and…it just seemed to make sense to do it in person while you’re in Unova than over the phone.” That, and, Fennel had a horrible habit of eavesdropping on her conversations, though only being able to hear her half, she had the uncanny ability to retain what she had heard and bring up anything interesting to her later. This wasn’t something she would be comfortable making a personal phone call from the lab about, either.

“Amanita, go to your room, please,” her mother hadn’t taken her eyes off of the brunette, but made her request without hesitation in a harsh whisper, reminding Aurea that Fennel’s sister was still standing there to begin with.

The young scientist didn’t hide her offense,“This is MY apartment! I want to hear!”

“Go. And not a word of this to your sister,” the older woman pointed in the direction of said room, the professor feeling at least a slight relief that they were willing to hear her out on it, if that’s what hr mother was implying.

“Fine, but I want to hear about it later,” Amanita smirked and began to make her way down the hallway, only after turning to the professor. “You should have known better than to talk to them about this when I was here, y'know that, right?”

With that she turned out of view, and upon hearing the door shut, the dark haired man leaned forward, shifting uncomfortably, not giving Aurea much time at all to consider what Amanita had made light of. “I didn’t know you could do that here.”

“Er….yes, we can,” the professor wanted to elaborate; things that were issues in other regions, namely Kanto, were never really such in Unova as long as she could remember, not that she paid attention otherwise. If it had been a topic of debate at one point of another, she may had been too young to understand, or have an opinion otherwise.

“I, um….” her mother began, nervously running her hands over one another, speaking in an attempt to avoid any debate that might come from the previous question. “Do you…do you have a ring already?” The innocent question earned an angered glance from the man, as if not wanting to encourage even the discussion of the possibility of the circumstance.

The woman across from them must not have caught it, already picking up her bag by her feet, “Yeah, I do, actually,” Aurea dug around in her purse momentarily, producing a small purple box, having trouble opening it with how obviously her hands were shaking to reveal what was inside. “I….I got it made from a moon stone, a while ago. Moon stones are usually black, but…I got the pink added to it…”

Her mother was obviously giving it more thought, holding out her hand to take the box, examining it closer.

“Does Fennel know about this?” her father asked, taking but a single quick glance at the ring from a distance, then darting his eyes back up at the woman before him.

“No, of course not. She doesn’t even know I’m here right now.”

He snorted, “It can’t be much good if you’re lying about your whereabouts to her already, then.”

Her father had an odd way of phrasing things against whoever was on the receiving end of his discontent, never outright saying that they were in the wrong, but implying it, nor was it the first time Aurea had dealt with it, certain now more than ever that it wouldn’t be the last, either. There was no trick to avoiding it, she found, and honesty wasn’t always the best policy in that regard. “I told her I was going out for the evening. She trusts that I’ll be home, and I will.”

The older man didn’t bother to hide his scoff at the answer, turning to his wife for some sort of agreement, though she had remained still, eyes shifting from the velvet box in her hands to intently forward on hearing the rest of whatever the professor wanted to say. Her mother seemed finished with the contents of the box, leaning over to hand it back to the professor who stuffed it back in her purse. “When were you planning on asking her this?”

As obvious as the question was, it was not one Aurea had been prepared to answer. “I, um… I don’t know yet. I…hadn’t thought past this discussion, to be quite honest.”

“That was wise of you,” Fennel’s father turned and took a long sip of the beverage that was next to him, more than likely hoping that when he turned back, his daughter’s supposed partner wouldn’t be there. But there she remained, and he still wasn’t certain what she had wanted from telling them this. “So are you asking us for permission, or a blessing?”

The answer evaded her completely, and Aurea realized she truly didn’t know for what she was seeking. Their approval would have been nice, though 'permission’ sounded like a privilege she felt they could take away if she agreed to that. This was not something that was going to end with them wishing her luck, or commending her in any way. But, they hadn’t outright told her to leave yet, either. And that was something, she supposed.

“While both would be preferable, I…. I mean no disrespect but…Fennel is an adult, and she can agree if she chooses to. I…felt it would be respectable to…let you know of my intentions…as her parents…” she could feel herself beginning to unravel at that Any thoughts beyond that escaped her. It would have been better to phrase her plans as a question than a definite course of action, and in the end, Fennel very well could decline.

Shifting in her seat nervously, she reminded herself that it truly wasn’t about what she had wanted to begin with. If it was up to her, they would have went to a court house and signed a few documents a long time ago, but that wasn’t at all how Fennel wished for their future to begin. No, Fennel had been very vocal at times about her expectations, and she wouldn’t be satisfied with the simplest way to get what she wanted. Aurea hadn’t felt an obligation to any of it, more, had come to terms with what Fennel wanted over time, and found herself in a prepared state to provide it.

“Look, I know neither of you are thrilled about this. But please believe me when I say that…well, I want the best for your daughter. I really do. I…I really mean it out of no disrespect at all for…how you have raised her…or what you may have considered for her…but, I…I love her and…well, I have reason to believe that she feels the same about me, and I just want to make her happy. I’d like to ask her to marry me, and…that’s what I intend to do.” It was the most forward she had probably ever been with anyone in terms of her and the dream scientist’s relationship, but desperate times called for desperate measures, she supposed. There had been a common, passing thought that if she had been a man, their relationship wouldn’t have bothered her parents in the least. She would not say their relationship was perfect; they had their fair share of arguments every now and then, but it was stable. They could each hold their own if they had to, not dependent on each other financially or otherwise, and that the relationship as a whole was a choice they were happy to make.

“If that’s what you’re going to do, then.” His reply was solemn and deadpan, remaining completely still. Fennel’s mother had added anything to the sentiment, giving a nervous nod.

It wasn’t a yes, but it wasn’t a no, either, and for whatever reason, Aurea had expected a firm nod in one direction or the other. She chose to believe, momentarily at least, that they set aside their own thoughts on whatever judgments that had on the relationship for Fennel’s happiness, but it seemed much too good to be true.

But for now, she would accept this.

The stare her father was giving her lead her to believe that they were finished here, whether there was more she could have said in convincing or not.

Aurea rose from her seat, extending her hand for at least one of them to shake, pulling it back awkwardly when neither had obliged, both possibly too immersed in reeling in the events that had unfolded in the past few minutes. “Well…thank you for your time. I’m sorry to have bothered you.”

Neither of them had moved, only nodding when the professor made her exit. Upon closing the door, she could have sworn she heard the man say something along the lines of that it 'wasn’t going to happen, anyways’. She couldn’t be sure if it was meant in that Fennel would come to her parent’s senses and tell her no, or if they had meant that she herself would be too intimated by the answer Fennel’s parents had given and would not go through with asking her to begin with. She wouldn’t have initiated it at all if she wasn’t certain this was what Fennel wanted, and working up the courage to do so was something she would deal with at another time.

It didn’t go as horribly as she may have expected, but she wouldn’t say it went all that well, either. Maybe she could have said more. They weren’t going to change their minds overnight on the subject, and certainly not within a few minutes, and trying to convince them otherwise would have been in vain.

The tears didn’t come until she was on the ferry, thankful it was dark out now and she had found a secluded corner in which to gather her thoughts before returning home. Aurea was grateful she had had so much time alone in all of it, especially on the way home, fearing that the sight of Fennel would cause the emotions to quell up again as they had on her journey home. It was an hour behind her now, wiping her eyes on the sleeve of her shirt before turning the door knob. She certainly couldn’t avoid her forever, and she most certainly didn’t want to.

Fennel hadn’t moved from her spot on the couch, still wrapped up in blankets, appearing to be sound asleep. It took Aurea a moment to gather herself after lying her eyes on the resting woman, all the musings she had on her way home creeping back up on her.

“Go to bed, Fennel,” the professor chuckled with a smile at the sight of her, turning off the television, hoping it would get her attention if she wasn’t as engulfed in sleeping as she seemed. It wasn’t that late, barely nine o'clock, and surely she couldn’t be as tired as she was letting on.

“Mm…okay….” Fennel pulled the covers over her head briefly, contemplating if it was worth gathering her strength to make the journey up the steps and in to her bed proper. After appearing to have mulled it over, she propped herself up on her elbow, eyes drifted to the clock on the DVD player, “You were gone for a while.”

“Yeah, had some stuff I had to do. I got it all done,” Aurea shrugged at how vague she had put it, true as it was.

“Did you remember to get milk?”

“Oh…” Fennel’s request had completely slipped her mind, finding it slightly embarrassing that the whole evening had been centered on doing something for her, yet she had forgotten the one tiny thing she had asked of her while she was out. “I forgot, I’m sorry. I’ll get it tomorrow on my way home.”

“You were gone for almost four hours, and I ask you to do one little thing and you forgot?!” Fennel released an exasperated sigh, slamming her first down on the pillow weakly. “We can’t have pancakes now. There’s enough for our coffee and tea and that’s it. Maybe not even that.”

Normally, the professor probably would have been annoyed at her over reaction to something so trivial. The world wasn’t going to come crashing down because Fennel couldn’t make breakfast in the morning. There would be another day. And, if things went as she hoped, many, many more days.

She set her bag down on the end table, taking a seat next to the dream scientist on the sofa, looking at Fennel’s state of disarray. Her glasses were crooked, her hair clip all but dangling to the last strand of her bangs, and there was part of an imprint from the pattern of the pillow on the side of her cheek from where she had been resting. Fennel was still obviously annoyed at both being awaken and her forgotten breakfast ingredients, her brows were slightly furrowed, and she was biting the edge of her lip ever so slightly. The sight was nothing new to her, mostly because Fennel had a habit of falling asleep on the couch. Considering all of what her evening had entailed, her thoughts still lingering back to what lay in her purse but a few inches away from her, she merely couldn’t find it in her to be anything short of elated to be near her, though feeling her next move was entirely out of context in Fennel’s perception.

“I love you,” she stated simply, wrapping Fennel in her embrace and planting a kiss on her forehead.

“No, Aurea, that’s not going to work!” Fennel weakly pushed her away, letting out a huff. “Whatever. I’m tired. I’m going to bed. I’ll make pancakes another day, which will not be tomorrow, because  _someone_  forgot to get milk,” she sighed again, sifting her blankets off to the side and pushing her hair out of her face. “I’m not mad, just…annoyed.”

“We can have them another day, I promise,” Aurea patted the other woman’s thigh, her smile not wavering despite Fennel’s small outburst.

The dark haired scientist nodded, rubbing her eyes with a yawn. “Just don’t forget tomorrow.”

Maybe someday she’d tell Fennel about this, discussing their future with her parents and returning home to her only for her to be angry at her over something so trivial, asking her if she remembers that day at all. But for now, they’d go to bed, and she’d mull over finding an appropriate situation to ask her something else.  


End file.
